Traitors Cove Bear Viewing in Ketchikan booking from $499.00

Traitors Cove Bear Viewing

Overview

Island Wings Air Service is owned and operated by Alaska veteran pilot Michelle Masden, who started flying in 1977 and began her business in Ketchikan in 1993. Island Wings takes the time and makes the effort to help you realize your Alaskan dreams. Share our love of flying through our vast Alaskan wilderness. Experience the freedom of flight over the wild grandeur of the mountains, the islands and the endless sea. In business since 1993, Island Wings takes the time and makes the effort to help you realize your Alaskan dreams. Our focus is the quality of your experience. From the handling of your reservation, to the equipment we operate, to the places we visit; we don't compromise and neither should you. The total time for this tour is 4.25 hours including: the flight, three hours onsite at Traitors Cove Bear Viewing Observatory, and fifteen minutes for the pick-up and drop-off.

City: Ketchikan

Mon 09 Sep

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Starting at $499.00

Make a reservation

Mon 09 Sep

Starting at $499.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

We operate well maintained six-passenger DeHavilland Beaver floatplanes

Guaranteed window seats for all passengers

Voice activated, noise cancelling headset for each passenger

Interactive narration with your Pilot

Pick-up and drop-off by Island WIngs van from the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau on Cruise Ship Berth 2

US Forest Service Special Use Permit for Bear Viewing within Tongss National Forest

All inclusive tour

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Please wear layered clothing and comfortable walking shoes.
All passengers MUST provide us a contact phone number when booking or call us at (907) 225-2444 to confirm a tour time.
Passengers travelling via cruise ship MUST provide their cruise ship name to us so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

What To Expect

Tongass National Forest

Between July20th and September 30th you can visit the bear viewing observatory at Traitors Cove. Fly by floatplane along the beautiful waterways of the lush Tongass National Forest across Revillagegedo island to a US Forest Service maintained trail and the Margarete Creek Bear Viewing platform. Bears can be seen plunging into the rushing water to retrieve their meals of wiggling salmon. This is a perfect opportunity to photograph Alaska's real fisherman in action! In addition to bears feeding, you will also see bald eagles picking over the scraps left by the bears and of course, the real stars of the show, the salmon as they battle their way upstream to spawn. Your journey will be accompanied by the Island Wings bear guide who will provide information about the flora and fauna along the way. Combine a short hike, beautiful scenery and a magnificent wildlife experience in one trip. This is a four hour tour that includes a floatplane flight, a one mile drive by van on a US Forest Service road and a short hike along a boardwalk trail to the viewing platform. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring plenty of camera batteries! The US Forest Service restricts access to Margarete Observatory by permit. As a result, only small numbers of people have the opportunity to visit this beautiful site, so book early! The four hour Traitors Cove bear viewing tour includes: a thirty minute flight each way and three hours at Traitors Cove. All tours include complimentary ground transportation to and from our dock which adds fifteen minutes to the beginning and the end of your tour. For this four hour tour you will need to budget four and a half hours total time. Season: July 20th through September 30th.

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (29)

LisaR319

Jul 2022

We were on a cruise but booked this excursion privately per recommendation by our travel agent. We were not disappointed. This was by far a highlight of the entire trip to Alaska for my husband and myself. My husband is a retired airline Captain.,so being able to fly in a seaplane was a huge thrill for him especially. But the bear viewing for me was spectacular. Our pilot Adam was extremely competent and our trail guide Annika was very knowledgeable about the wildlife and the habitat. But seeing so many bears and eagles up close in their home was just breathtaking. The views from the plane out and back to Traitors Cove were stunning , even on the cloudy overcast day that it was. Everything about this experience was run very professional and top notch. We were a group of seven and so half of our group were on Michelle’s plane and they were just as happy and impressed with their ride and they were two retired airline Captains in that plane as well.

gillm976

Jul 2022

We had originally booked a bear viewing trip to Anan Creek but the weather conditions on the morning of our flight meant that it was impossible to negotiate the cloud -however hard Adam, our pilot, tried to work around the mist. Instead, we were really pleased to be offered an alternative trip to Traitor’s Cove, where we had an excellent informative talk by our guide Onika ( forgive me if that is the wrong spelling) She was knowledgeable and very helpful, and we were delighted to have a close encounter with a beautiful black bear, searching for early salmon! We were really impressed by the professional and safe piloting of Adam, who went out of his way to ‘fight’ the weather without taking risks. And a special mention for Michelle, who was totally honest about the situation and pulled out all the stops to make this a special visit. Huge thanks to everyone - we would thoroughly recommend this company!

Steve41151

Nov 2021

Flew with Island Wings along with my grandson to see the bears in 2020. Tried to do it again with a different grandson in 2021 but the weather stopped us. Both years we flew over Mystic Fjords and landed on an inland lake 300' above sea level. The bear viewing may have been the best excursion type trip I have ever taken. We were on a salmon fishing trip, but got there two days early for the Fjords and bear watching. Michelle is an exceptional pilot and is a great tour guide while on the ground or in the air. I plan to go back at least one more time with my wife the next time.

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